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Press reviews
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The Schemann-Duo ... once again made a brilliant impression. [...]
Four briskly performed Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms, five including the encore, drew the concert to a close with a standing ovation.
Kieler Nachrichten, 18 February 2009
A dream couple. Such couples exist in the pop-music genre, among ice-skaters, and one occasionally finds them, like exotic flowers, in classical music. The piano duo of Susanne and Dinis Schemann, who reside in Gröenzell, is that kind of a dream couple: wherever the husband-and-wife Piano Duo performs, it is usually to a full house.
[...] What is fascinating about the Duo is their lack of restraint and their completely unorthodox way of approaching even the most difficult pieces with an uncanny simplicity. Their interpretations seem to exclude other "solutions" right from the outset. One always has the feeling that it must sound this way and no other way, although one has never before heard it this way.
Münchner Merkur, 25 November 2008
Mozart's Sonata K. 448 sounded in a manner that Mozart himself could not have known: the precision and congruity of their ensemble playing was so fantastic that the instruments of Mozart's time, by far not as reliable as those of the present day, would never have allowed this degree of perfection.
The Schemanns did not stop at this technical aspect, but transformed it into musicality. The chains of runs strung together like pearls, powerful stereo effects and question-and-answer games in dialogue between the two grand pianos succeeded impressively in the Allegro con spirito. Intelligently dosed dynamic intensifications made possible a finely nuanced tone without having to exhaust the sonic extremes.
The musicians developed a dramaturgy of wide arcs in the Andante; the vitally pulsating style in the final Allegro turned out perfectly synchronised. [...]
At the end, the audience was again rewarded for their enthusiastic applause and bravo calls.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 18 November 2008
The Schemann Duo Provided an Hour of Glory for Piano Music at the Furtherance Association "pro musica."
They do not merely play piano - they breathe life into the works they performed, allowing us to sense the universe behind the music that, inexpressible in words, must have moved the composer. It was they, Susanne and Dinis Schemann, who made the very first concert of the season of the furtherance association "pro musica" an hour of glory for piano music at the well-attended Honorary Hall at City Hall.
Fränkische Landeszeitung, 28 October 2008
Piano duos - at one or two pianos - have a long tradition at the Balingen concerts. Many have handed over their visiting cards there, from the Bauer-Bung Duo to the Stenzl Brothers, but hardly any better than the husband-and-wife team of Susanne and Dinis Schemann. - The Schemanns made a special occasion of the second subscription concert in the Civic Centre.
Schwarzwälder Bote, 24 October 2007
Sonic Fireworks and a Storm of Keys for Four Hands [One Piano]
German-Portuguese Piano Duo Schemann Wrenched Listeners from Their Seats at the Kirchheim Civic Centre
The emphasis was on dance-like music after the interval. With Edvard Grieg's Norwegian Dances, Op. 35, the Duo presented an incredibly diversified composition with constantly changing rhythms, tempi and timbres. [...] the almost jazz-like cross rhythms, requiring the highest degree of precision, and the brilliant, extremely effective conclusion with a precisely accurate "landing" truly wrenched the audience from their seats.
The programme came around full circle with the Johannes Brahms's Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 4, and 6 from the First Volume. The fire of the Hungarian Plain already began to blaze in the Allegro molto (No. 1) during the strongly rhythmical middle section, fuelled by a Duo playing as if unleashed, never falling into soulless keyboard acrobatics, but always approaching the works with an expressive aim. [...]
Susanne and Dinis Schemann once again proved themselves true "wizards of the keyboard" and masters of rubato and dynamic effects. The frequently- heard Brahms, at times played into the ground, became a dust-free pearl of the concert hall in their hands. Frenetic applause mixed with bravo calls rewarded the Duo's rousing performance.
Teckbote, 5 March 2007
Hour of Glory at Herten Castle
There was an hour of glory at Herten Castle as far as complete maturity and homogeneity were concerned. Both pianists are masters of wide, organically flowing musical arcs. The breath of the music, its warmth and roundness, are in the foreground. This, however, by no means excludes unleashed storm and stress in the playing of the Schemann Duo, for the extremes in temperament that they achieve are without equal. [...]
- a way of performing that, despite all balanced maturity and sensual cultivation, does not renounce the flamboyant surprise effect, nor even the surprise attack.
Magnificent!
Hertener Allgemeine, 22 May 2006
Performance of Touching Depth Lends Wings to Creativity
Top-Class Concert with Schemann Duo
Regardless of where listeners discovered their personal highlight, all the works on this programme had one thing in common: the interpretations were inherently consistent, and beyond that, mature and profound to such a degree that they could completely dispense with artificially dramatic effects. ... Long-lasting applause, rewarded by several encores was only a final small indication of the success of this top-class concert.
Borkener Zeitung, 10 December 2005
Schemann: World-Class Piano Duo Sparks an Ovation
A world-class piano duo gave the fifth master concert of the season... In the world of music, the husband-and-wife artists Susanne and Dinis Schemann stand for top quality.
Die Glocke, 1 March 2005
The Schemann Piano Duo: Triumph of a Twenty-Finger Orchestra
Tonal effects form an important part of this work [Mozart's Sonata in F (K.497)]. Consisting of ingeneously contrasted material, the music needs to be moulded with great sensitivity of touch. That is something in which the Schemann Piano Duo are masters, as was handsomely demonstrated in Mozart's two contrasted themes in the cantabile Andante. The way the duo got to the heart of the subtle Finale, too, was a revelation in terms of cultivated piano playing, which revealed an orchestral coloration and a great deal of finesse.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 24 January 2005
A Breathtaking Concert Experience
Schemann Duo in Absolute Top Form
Over the past 36 years, the hall of the Eckenberg grammar school has been the scene of many musical events, with some superb presentations of chamber music, performances by gifted artists, and the presence of highly enthusiastic audiences. Even so, enthusiasm of the kind shown on this occasion and such a demonstration of outstanding musicality and pianistic culture are relatively rare. The appearance of the Schemann Duo on this Saturday evening proved to be a genuine stroke of fortune.
Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, 1 December 2004
A Top-Class European Piano Duo
Susanne and Dinis Schemann have certainly internalized their Mozart [Sonata in F, K.497]. They present the three movements not so much in the form of a dialogue as in absolute harmony. Their physical movements are synchronous and wholly in accord with the music... In the middle movement, a gentle Andante, it was as if the heavy Steinway were floating in the air.
Chamer Zeitung, 5 October 2004
Masters of piano duo playing
Dithmarscher Landeszeitung, 14 June 2004
Four Hands, One Piano; Two Artists and Their Indomitable Creative Spirit: the Superb Schemann Piano Duo...
Not only do Dinis and Susanne Schemann strike the keys in unison; their movements are synchronous. Even their breathing is in perfect harmony - all in a single mould. What wouldn't one give to hear the Schemann's Schubert? Without doubt, their interpretation is one of the best of the day.
Südwest-Presse, 27 April 2004
Listening to the Schemanns, one had the feeling of being at the carnival in Rio: so eloquently they made the keys dance! (Scaramouche by Darius Milhaud)
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 8 March 2004
Sparkling pianistic delights...
At long last, artists who are simply bubbling over with music, who know how to communicate a sense of joy as well as seriousness in their own peerless way, who approach the goal they have set themselves with vivacity, yet at the same time with great elegance.
The programme itself was not exactly exciting,... but when the works are developed with such thought, when they are revealed in depth and allowed to radiate from within, the all too familiar can appear in a new light...
Then Franz Schubert's complex, grand Fantasia in F minor for piano duet: the tragic mood of this work can be communicated convincingly only if played with passion. The loving care of the performance creates the atmosphere; the gentle sense of assertion delineates the contours; there is no feeling of longueur. The silent intervals are wonderfully filled with inaudible music. It is remarkable how the two musicians listen ahead; how in the long-projected conclusion, the whole gamut of emotions is recapitulated one last time, before the music is allowed to fade away. The audience follows the performance in breathless excitement, utterly still, incapable of applauding immediately...
And before that, Scaramouche for two pianos: when did the second movement, the Modéré, of this popular piece ever radiate so much poetry? In contrast to this calm mood, the Samba seemed all the more infectious... A concert in which such a lot took place!
Nürnberger Zeitung, 22 October 2003
(Meistersingerhalle, Nuremberg)
...Harmony in 20 fingers...
From constantly playing together, a tremendous harmony has developed in their performances, and this lent the Sonata in B flat by Mozart a beguiling interpretational quality... Clearly articulated, sparkling figures by each of the partners merged in their striking ensemble playing to form a homogeneous whole. Performing in duet manifested itself as a harmonious exchange, even in the gently lilting Adagio, which gained in tonal lightness from the graciously inserted 32nd notes.
A genial Presto, informed by the sheer joy of playing, recalled the two young Mozarts - brother and sister - and the way they jauntily and effectively tossed the "chattering" chords backwards and forwards to each other, investing the final movement with a great deal of spirit, just as the Schemann Duo did.
Südkurier, 27 May 2003
(Lake Constance Festival)
The playing of this duo is distinguished not by a state of tension between the different temperaments of two musical beings, but by the utmost concord in their sensibilities and the absolute identity of their attack, expression and phrasing. This admirable balance and tonal consonance were the dominant features in Mozart's Sonata in D for two pianos, K.448. They found exciting expression both in the rhythmically explosive opening movement, with the concertante dimension of two pianos, and in the subtle frictions and cantabile developments of the expansive Andante. The Finale, with its surprisingly elegaic turns, crowned Mozart's weighty Sonata in D, which is over half an hour in length. It also marked the climax of the Schemanns' interpretation, which illuminated all facets of the composer...
In the famous Fantasia in F minor for piano duet by Franz Schubert, the formally decisive way in which the full meaning of this inscrutable psychograph of a despairing human being was unfolded was utterly convincing. In this work of extreme ambivalence, the constant shifts of mood, the rhythmic contrasts between the insistent steps of the wanderer and the uneasy motifs of the upper part, the desperate gaiety of the Vivace section and the defiant determination of the Fugue were captured brilliantly and with unabated intensity by Susanne and Dinis Schemann.
Donau Kurier, Ingolstadt, 17 May 2003
(Konzertverein Ingolstadt)
Audience in raptures at rousing, exuberent performance.
Taunus Zeitung, 13 March 2003
If one had listened to the performance without looking, one might have imagined that only a single musician was sitting at the piano. The duo was one with the music, exploiting the full range of the keyboard, imperceptibly passing the strands of the composition backwards and forwards between each other. Breathlessly hushed passages were contrasted with an orchestral fullness of tone that could scarcely be more colourful, masterly and serene.
Ruhrnachrichten, 12 April 2003
The renowned Schemann Duo attacked the keys and demonstrated its brilliance from the very first bar of Francis Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in D minor. Susanne and Dinis Schemann performed their solo parts tempestuously, yet accommodated themselves pliantly to the orchestral accompaniment. With stunning expressive powers, they formulated the romantically tinged Larghetto and captured the pulsing rhythms of the outer movements with great ardour... Bravos and frenetic applause.
Homburger Woche, 13 March 2003
...Four hands in perfect harmony
Musically speaking, Susanne and Dinis Schemann might be compared with the Chinese yin and yang, which together form a whole. The audience at the palace concert on Sunday experienced this in the form of consummate musical harmony. Were it not completely impossible by nature, one might have believed that a single pianist was performing here, playing the works with four hands...
The sense of wonder, the inward pauses and the sudden outbursts on the part of the pianists seemed motivated by but a single train of thought. Both of them mastered the rapidly changing moods - from the most intimate avowal of belief [in the music], played in a subdued tone, to wildly emotional outbreaks - passing the thematic threads imperceptibly backwards and forwards between each other. At the end of this dramatic piece of music (Schubert's "Storms of Life" Allegro), the tension in the audience was quite tangible.
Ruhrnachrichten, 12 June 2003
The two artists, a married couple, provided a perfect picture of two individuals performing independently, yet inwardly in rapport with each other. Their solo performance of Darius Milhaud's Scaramouche thus proved to be a sensitive dialogue that lost itself in dreams at certain points, only to end in the frenzy of dance.
Märkische Allgemeine, 20 March 2003
An impressive demonstration of brilliance by the Schemanns.
Münchner Merkur, 8 April 2003
The perfect duo ... their brilliant technique, finely nuanced playing and virtuosity sent the audience into raptures. In the perfection and tonal beauty of their ensemble playing, the two pianists were virtually unsurpassable.
Westfalenpost, 18 October 2002
Rich coloration and fullness of tone were unfolded before a large audience in Sergei Rachmaninov's Six Pieces Op. 11. In this work, one finds all those elements that bring out the strengths of the Schemann Piano Duo. An orchestra-like richness of tone is augmented by decorative brilliance. Lyrical cantabile playing is contrasted with powerful virtuosity; and exciting rhythmic accents illuminate the inner structure of the broad melodic passages. The duo responded to the tumultuous applause with brilliant performances of two Hungarian Dances by Brahms and an entrancing modern jazz miniature by Manfred Schmitz.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 11 March 2002
Renowned Schemann Piano Duo performs in assembly hall...
There are some concerts one cannot help but enjoy. They are rare, but all the more precious for that reason. ... Only after three encores was the piano duo allowed to leave the platform by an audience that will not forget this evening so quickly.
Westfälische Nachrichten, 3 December 2002
The duo performed in a manner that transcends what can be expressed in words. Long afterwards, it was still palpable. What more can one ask of music?
Braunschweiger Zeitung, 15 October 2002
It is always a delight to hear the Petite Suite as it rises to its climax. To hear it played by the Schemann Piano Duo afforded the additional pleasure of pianistic refinement.
Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, 28 October 2002
...Emotional depth, drama and a jaunty vigour...
The husband-and-wife duo gave a most convincing interpretation of this emphatic work (Schubert's Fantasia in F minor, which dates from the year of the composer's death in 1828) - an interpretation of clear, individual character. Very free rubato, strong agogics, and angular, jagged, pointed phrasing served to evoke a dramatically expressive mood. The sense of wonder and hesitation and the sudden eruptions in the playing of the two pianists occurred in complete unison. Of special importance for the musical interpretation was the conscious articulation of a state of inwardness. ... At the end of this highly dramatic, existential music - a matter of life and death - an almost tangible feeling of tension pervaded the hall.
Binger Allgemeine Zeitung, 25 February 2002
... a pianistic stroke of genius that the audience will not so quickly forget.
Neue Württembergische Zeitung, 24 October 2002
...Musically kindred spirits...
The Schemann Piano Duo presented a ravishing tonal feast in the city hall.
Allgäuer Zeitung, 27 April 2002
Mozart's Sonata in D major, K.381, was distinguished by a lightness of touch, brought out all the more through the Schemann's spirited playing of the two outer movements - with an incredible attack, yet observing the tempi very closely. This was ideally contrasted with the peaceful cantabile of the gentle middle movement. One was impressed here not only by the interpretation of the score, but by its technical realization: as if performed with a single breath, with absolute unison precision, with seamless continuity from hand to hand.
Saale-Zeitung, 26 March 2002
Astonishing how the two pianists mastered the rapidly changing moods - from the most intimate pianissimo avowal of faith to wild orchestral outbursts - imperceptibly passing the motif backwards and forwards to each other. (Schubert's "Storms of Life" in A minor)
Thüringer Allgemeine, 9 October 2001
...complete unison on two pianos - the Schemann Piano Duo in absolute top form...
Their playing in perfect unison ensured that the opening movement (Allegro con spirito) was a resounding success. Particularly impressive were the orchestral echo effects. With their effervescent runs, the avoidance of excessive forte playing and the spirited impetus of the movement, a mood of lightness and serenity prevailed. The clear dynamic differentiation, without resorting to rubati, evoked a tender, but never affected, sentiment in the Andante, before the work closed with an Allegro molto that was distinguished by its elegance. (Mozart, Sonata in D major, K.448)
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 20 November 2001
The most attractive thing was how they performed in unison, how they breathed and lived with the music, regardless who happened to be playing the top line or the bottom (something that changed from piece to piece anyway). The tone remained soft, full, balanced and fabulously transparent at all times...
One had the impression, therefore, that there was a single player seated at the piano - a pianist who commanded a vastly extended range, of course, so that the Allegro from Schubert's "Storms of Life" sounded like a symphonic work. Rarely is one made so aware of how inexorably the leading motif keeps breaking in, whether after a sudden climax, after a lyrical inward moment or in the middle of a passage of heavenly rapture, and how, after swelling up and subsiding, the music sinks within itself at the end.
Schwarzwälder Bote, 5 December 2001
When the phrasing merged to become a unified, cogent whole and it seemed as if the profoundest depths of emotion were being sounded, one had the impression that a single musician was playing here, not a duo... Seemingly unending applause.
Münchner Merkur, 22 November 2001
During the Allegro of Mozart's Sonata in D major, K.381, the two pianists' dedication to the music was already evident. Susanne Schemann not only translates the notes into the language of the piano; she "lives" the music through the application of her whole body... It is as if she herself were following the development of the pieces with the utmost attention. Indeed, it is so fascinating that one is unable to avert one's gaze, despite other listening habits.
Emder Zeitung, 8 December 2001
In the performance of these two pianists, the vivid music with its harmonically fascinating and elegant passages was a pleasure of the highest kind. In particular, the final movement, "Le pas espagnol", with its vivacious Spanish atmosphere, roused the audience to a demonstration of enthusiasm. (Gabriel Fauré, Dolly)
Meppener Tagespost, 12 December 2001
Four-handed sorcery!
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 19 March 2001
The calls of "bravo!" from the more soigné sections of the audience were mingled with the "wows!" of the younger people, the clapping of the children - and the drumming of their feet high above the stalls. The Schemann Piano Duo had won the hearts of all generations of listeners with its performance.
The many years of experience (of the duo) bear fruit in the perfect artistic accord of its interpretation - down to the smallest details - regardless whether he or she happens to be taking the lead musically or playing the accompaniment.
And nevertheless, there is no sense of routine about their playing. It is distinguished by a musical vivacity that ranges from the gentlest melancholy to eruptive outbursts and which, in the case of Susanne Schemann, manifests itself in an almost dance-like physical expression. A carefully considered interpretation and dance-like highlights that make a profound impression on the audience form part of the Schemann's expressive repertoire.
Fränkischer Tag, 6 March 2001
The Schemann Duo is convincing for the absolute precision of its ensemble playing, in the course of which one forgets that there are two people sitting at the piano. In "En bateau" (from Debussy's Petite Suite) one senses the swaying, rocking movement on the rippled surface of the water. "Cortège", a festive court procession, delights us with its rich sonority. The "Menuet", with its modal echoes of pre-Baroque minuet forms, has an eruptive power. Finally, the concluding "Ballet" is a pyrotechnic display in which the elan of the dance breaks through will full force.
Mannheimer Morgen, 16 March 2001
"The harmony of an intact three-way relationship" would be a lapidary description of the Schemann Piano Duo; but it is more, much more than that!
Their aura is overwhelming. The symbiosis of love, vitality and artistry is breathtaking. Two people at the piano with which they fuse into a unity.
Bayerwald-Echo, 27 March 2001
Not only did the artists meet the great technical demands made of them; this married couple documented a state of musical union par excellence. In the opening Sonata in B major (K.358) by Mozart, one already sensed the personal "background" of an ideal collaboration, which manifested itself not only in the physically congruent movements of playing, but equally in the attack and intonation, the use of pedals and the emotional expression. The balanced performance of the sonata, which reflected the equality of both partners, was filled with a sense of grace and charm.
Ruhr Nachrichten, 17 March 2001
...mutual piano dreams...
Complete emotional accord of the Schemann Duo.
The Schemann Piano Duo convinced its audience with a classical - in the best sense of the word - performance of this early masterpiece (Mozart's Sonata in B major, K.358), which they played with richly varied dynamics and agogics, exploring Mozart's score in minute detail, rendering it unbelievably sculptural and transparent...
The Schemanns convincingly juxtaposed a classical-romantic Schubert with a classical Mozart in a meticulously shaped and superbly proportioned interpretation. The Fantasia possessed magnitude and dramatic force; but the specifically Schubertian emotional mood was always perceptible in the background - somewhere in the realm between tears, death and bliss...
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 17 October 2000
In the Slavonic Dances, Susanne and Dinis Schemann gave free rein to their spirited temperament. Dvorak's Op.72, No.2, and Op.46, Nos.7 and 8, had the audience bobbing up and down on their seats - so great was the charm and lightness of these pieces; so precisely the pianists performed them. Superb the expansive theme of the melancholy Op.72. The faster movements were played with a fine sense of pace and attack.
Heidenheimer Neue Presse, 16 November 2000
With lively tempi, the Schemanns accentuated the untroubled vivacity of the work, articulating it so expressively that here and there in the first and last movements, themes from Figaro seemed to sparkle excitingly. The middle movement, as if sung in an undertone, acquired an almost romantic quality. (Mozart, Sonata in D major, K.381)
Tagespost, 9 April 2001
The Schemann Piano Duo presented piano music in its finest form, arousing the enthusiasm of the audience not just with their perfect coordination, but above all with their dedicated, exciting delineation of the score.
...a remarkable musical partnership that is a unique phenomenon in the world of music.
Rüsselsheimer Echo, 2 November 2000
Schubert's wealth of exquisite thematic ideas, his bold harmonies and the great craftsmanship of his movement for piano duo were all demonstrated by the Schemann Piano Duo in a most moving performance. This was the outstanding artistic event of the evening, and it did not fail to make an impression on the audience.
NWZ, 19 October 2000
...Piano duet playing of absolute perfection...
The palpable harmony of their execution, the sureness of timing and their clean, accentuated timbre were not just convincing; they moved the audience to an ovation.
Frankfurter Neue Presse, 30 March 2000
In their brilliant manner of playing, interwoven with musical ideas, with octaves, double-stop runs and extended trills, the pianists knew how to shape the magical poetry that goes straight to the heart. With their inexhaustible tonal resources and distinctive style, they were able to captivate the audience and achieve seamless modulations... (Mozart, Sonata in B major, K.358)
Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine, 27 March 2000
...The Schemann Piano Duo convinces over the whole gamut of the keyboard...
They played together, engaging with each other, inspiring each other, seeking to outbid each other in the joy of music-making. The Allegro brillant (Mendelssohn) was a pyrotechnic display of pianistic skills...
Allgäuer Zeitung, 26 July 2000
...In unison - from fiery temperament to tender emotions...
Already in the opening sonata, the artists revealed the absolute unison of their playing. Spirited passages full of dynamic power alternated with others that were gently, sensitively played - and with complete accord between the two instruments. It was at this point that the spark leapt across to the audience, which rewarded the two artists with tumultuous applause.
Bayerische Rundschau, 24 May 2000
With virtuoso technique, with empathy in their interpretation and with their professional manner, the husband-and-wife artists quickly gained the favour of the audience. Each contributing a top-rank performance, the two pianists showed jointly in their duet playing that unity, integrity and harmony are more than the sum of their parts...
Prolonged applause: a standing ovation forced the duo to return to the keyboard for no less than three encores.
Memminger Zeitung, 29 July 2000
...Complete harmony on the piano...
Südwestpresse / Alb Bote, 9 May 2000
...rousing storms of life, tempestuous cascades of notes... (Schubert's Duo in A minor)
The single-mindedness with which the duo pursued its course from the first tonal repetitions of the theme - played awesomely yet compellingly slowly - is a token of the pianists' uncompromising artistic seriousness, their great musical authority, their ability to breathe life into spacious musical structures and to enter into the absolute sense of desolation of this musical world. With an archaic non-legato rigour, the Schemanns allowed the grand architecture of the fugue to unfold, until it finally subsided in the dissonant despair of the final chords: music after which there can be no encores. (Schubert: Fantasia in F minor)
Teckbote Kirchheim, 20 January 2000
...And the Schemann Piano Duo interpreted the work in the same way - rising and falling with the music in an alternation of powerful tuttis and chamber-music-like episodes, exploiting the dynamic range of the two instruments to the full, progressing powerfully all the time towards the culmination of the work - breathtaking and stirring into the 'unbelievable mortal maelstrom'. (Ravel, La Valse)
Neue Westfälische, 4 March 2000
The uncompromising avowal of purpose at bridge passages, changes of tempo and cadences, but above all the verve and temperament that repeatedly burst through - all that would have stirred even the most pedantic of judges to draw the 6-point card.
Freie Presse, 4 April 2000
Rapturous acclaim!
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 22 November 1999
No technical difficulties are too great for the two soloists. They can draw on a great range of skills, but the remarkable perfection of their playing is not an end in itself. They are far too musical for that. They have immense resources at their command.
Wiesbadener Tagblatt, 16 November 1999
...Consummate performing art...
Whether they play on two pianos or in duet, their rapport is most impressive.
Neue Westfälische, 20 November 1999
It goes without saying that they were well versed in their art; but what really counted was the igniting spark. The way this young married pair of pianists performed these musical variations on the basic things of life - seen through the eyes of a person doomed to death - was full of conviction and class, their gestures and movements identical for whole passages, yet at the same time entirely spontaneous [Franz Schubert, Fantasia in F minor].
Harzkurier, 26 October 1999
The performance of the delicate Fantasia [by Franz Schubert] with its subtle harmonic shifts was both exciting and masterful. The Largo was no less charged with tension.
Münchner Merkur, 26 November 1999
...the height of artistry on two pianos...
Freie Presse / Zwickauer Zeitung, 9 November 1999
After the final notes of Darius Milhaud's Scaramouche had died away, the audience burst spontaneously into thunderous applause.
Offenbach Post, 12 October 1999
It is astonishing with what spiritual and artistic accord the two approach their task: the way they are always of one mind both dynamically and agogically, and nevertheless convey an impression of spontaneous music-making.
Whether it be the perfectly attuned attack, the varied timbres, the persuasive rhythm or the sensitively articulated ornament, their playing leaves nothing to desire.
Die Rheinpfalz, 30 October 1999
A duo to rave about.
PZ / Pirmasenser Zeitung, 30 October 1999
These two exceptionally gifted pianists complement each other artistically in almost consummate form. Their performances have an energetic, dynamic, almost insistent quality; and they are technically perfect in their solo and ensemble playing, with a precise yet sensitive expression.
A piano duo whose exceptional artistic merits explain why they are at present among the most sought-after and successful chamber-music ensembles in the world.
Freie Presse / Zwickauer Zeitung, 9 November 1999
Applause for brilliant music for piano duet.
Borkener Zeitung, 7 December 1999
Over the past four years, the young piano duo, Susanne and Dinis Schemann from Munich, has achieved a level of perfection and expressiveness that electrified the audience last weekend...
Allgemeine Zeitung der Lüneburger Heide, 4 August 1999
...A tremendous concert...
Schwarzwälder Bote, 16 May 1999
Music fans all over the world would have envied the audience especially for the unique interpretation of Franz Schubert's Fantasia in F minor for piano duet.
This virtuoso piano duo captured the changing moods of the music with an incredibly beautiful timbre and with a finely modulated intonation. Memories were awoken of great pianists such as Walter Gieseking or Alfred Brendel in his younger days. But the most amazing thing about this duo, who have been playing together since 1985, is their tacit understanding: the way they listen to and accompany each other to the rise and fall of the music.
Neue Westfälische, 13 May 1999
Susanne and Dinis Schemann then entranced the audience with virtuoso, sensitive and at the same time precise piano playing. The audience acclaimed these popular performers after the very first piece...
An unforgettable piano recital!
Böhme-Zeitung, 16 August 1999
What these two sorcerers of the piano let loose in the hall with all-pervading power is an earthquake of dramatic proportions, a pianistic inferno: the end of the world - and to waltz rhythm. Marvellous! [Maurice Ravel, La Valse]
Fellbacher Zeitung, 30 March 1999
Throughout the recital, both pianists played with the utmost concentration, as if under the spell of the tonal world they were conjuring and completely attuned to each other: supreme harmony.
Westfälische Nachrichten, 25 May 1999
Seated at the piano, Susanne Schemann seems to sing and dance with the music. Anyone who has witnessed this pianist's style of playing will always visualize her performance, even if experiencing a work only aurally. With what accomplishment her musical sensibility is translated into technique! Dinis Schemann's performance describes a great circle - from the written notes, through their mental translation, to the act of intonation. In his performance with Susanne Schemann, an all-embracing stream of unity manifests itself that includes even their physical gestures.
Not only did Susanne and Dinis Schemann play music as a unified whole; they knew how to draw their audience into this sense of musical concord.
Badener Zeitung, 15 May 1999
This recital for piano duet was a top-ranking musical experience.
Haller Tagblatt, 12 November 1998
Breathtaking brilliance, fluency and precision - and on top of all this, a fantastic sense of musicality: these are the qualities that have raised the Piano Duo Susanne and Dinis Schemann to world class in the past few years.
In Mozart's three-movement Sonata in B major, one was enthralled by the wonderful rapport and accord in the exchanges between the two artists, performed with such lightness of touch, such lucidity and fluidity that one really had the impression one was overhearing a dialogue between twin organisms that had grown seamlessly together.
Fränkische Nachrichten, 14/15 November 1998
Truly a piano recital of a most special kind.
Badische Zeitung, 5 November 1998
An interpretation of Romantic music and Romanticism in music like this is at the topmost level of interpretation.
It was a most impressive concert with stylistically assured interpretations of the highest order and apparently inexhaustible pianistic skills: the height of musicality on two pianos.
Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, 19 December 1998
...the two top-class artists displayed a most convincing sense of unity and captivated their audience with their flawless ensemble playing, musical phrasing and perfect technique in these sometimes dashing, sometimes melancholy pieces [Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dances].
Donauwörther Zeitung, 17 October 1998
The opening movement: a single vibrant cantilena; a wonderful sense of mutual respiration, a natural, completely harmonious reciprocal exchange of the compositional lines in the Andante "Tendresse"; and finally, untamed Spanish temperament in the Finale [Gabriel Fauré's Dolly]. A well-deserved ovation.
Allgäuer Zeitung, 19 November 1998
Accomplishment and charisma - the Piano Duo Schemann in Mainau Palace
Südkurier, 22 October 1998
Rarely does one experience two instrumentalists playing with such rapport. Every caesura, every accent, every rallentando, every accelerando is in perfect unison. The duo is a model of technical unity.
Taunus-Zeitung, 20 November 1998
After the eruptive opening, the transition to the second section was bewitchingly beautiful. Despite the tonal and harmonic expression of rapture at certain points, the disturbing mood remained present as a result of the restrained syncopations in the bass [Franz Schubert, "Storms of Life"].
Main-Post, 14 November 1998
It was fascinating here simply to see how two performers could harmonize with each other, playing as if in a reverie. Even in the opening work, Mozart's Sonata in B major (K.358), the polish and lightness of touch, the subtle sureness of tone, the freshness, the transparency and clarity of the Schemanns' playing was most impressive.
Badische Zeitung, 5 November 1998
For nearly a decade now, the duo has belonged to the leading international representatives of this genre. Perfectly attuned to each other, the pianists perform in such a way that every detail is illuminated, contrasts are savoured and the works are seen from a new perspective.
Landeszeitung der Lüneburger Heide, 28/29 March 1998
With what restless energy, what tempo, what shifts of mood - from heartfelt melancholy to utmost vehemence - they do justice to this work [Franz Schubert's Grand Duo] without allowing themselves, or us, the least respite, not even in the Andante! Even for a live recital, it was a rare insight into a complex musical world that could be experienced not only aurally, but with all the senses. ... Rapturous applause.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 10 November 1997
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